ISLAMABAD, July 23: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered registration of cases against those responsible for the desecration of papers containing Quranic verses recovered after the recent raid on the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa compound and sought a detailed report from the interior secretary about the whereabouts of students gone missing since the military operation.

A three-member-bench, comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, has taken up the killing of innocent people during the operation. The bench directed Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema, spokesman for the interior ministry, to ensure that the pages of Quranic versus were not desecrated.

During the hearing, Justice Javed Iqbal made it clear that the apex court would not determine innocence or guilt of the detained persons, as it was concerned only with the missing persons, the number of people killed and the manner in which the burials were conducted.

The bench directed the interior secretary to present a detailed report on the record of students in Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid along with details of those arrested, missing and buried. The bench will hold the next hearing on July 26.

On Monday, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali told the bench that of a total of 134 detained persons 37 had been released following detailed scrutiny and screening.

He informed the court that the Simli Dam Rest House had been declared a sub-jail where Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, his wife Majida Umme Hassan and their daughters Tayyaba and Asma were detained.

Justice Javed Iqbal observed that the near and dear ones of many affected people had fallen victim to the operation and now it was the duty of the administration to ameliorate their suffering.

Justice Nawaz Abbasi observed that a common factor in the case was that all the students belonged to poor families and had their parents had enough money they would not have sent their children to Jamia Hafsa.